On its surface, "Everything I Wanted" is a meditation on Eilish's sudden global success and the pitfalls of surface-level adoration.
This isn't exactly an original concept, but Eilish's take on this theme is elevated by a warm current that runs through it, like an oxygen-rich artery: The song is actually about her brother, their relationship, and the unconditional love they share.
O'Connell, who cowrote and produced the song, also sings with his sister on the chorus, which acts as an antidote to her spectral feelings of inadequacy and distrust in the verses: "You say, 'As long as I'm here, no one can hurt you,'" she sings, a line that O'Connell actually came up with.
In fact, Eilish and O'Connell began work on the song back in September 2018, before Eilish had truly reached superstardom. It began as an expression of Eilish's depression — "I was in a really bad place mentally," she explained to the New York Times — but O'Connell refused to help her write a hopeless song about suicide.
"It was a period where I was really worried about my sister, and I felt like an enabler in helping her write a song as bleak as that song was," he told the Times. "A lot of songs are written in retrospect, but this one felt like it was being written in real time, and I was like: 'This is something we've got to write on the other side of this hill. We have to go through this in real life.'"
They returned to finish "Everything I Wanted" the following year, when Eilish was in a much better mental state. And this caring, thoughtful dynamic is exactly what the song captures, both literally and spiritually.
Not only do the lyrics describe their bond, but the entire song is a breathtaking portrait of their in-sync collaborative skills.
There's a sense of empathy and tenderness in the production that feels unique to the duo's connection, like a natural extension of O'Connell's protective instincts and how the siblings seem to understand each other. They transformed the song from an expression of discomfort and despair into a familial sanctuary, a refuge from those very feelings. — Callie Ahlgrim
Song highlight: Eilish actually recorded the line "I tried to scream / But my head was underwater" while her head was underwater.
Average score: 9.73/10